The Warriors are turning to a rookie right out of the gate.
Yaxel Lendeborg will make his NBA debut as a starter when Golden State opens the season Wednesday against the Lakers. The Warriors’ lineup will feature Stephen Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Lendeborg and Draymond Green.
It’s a notable call, but it also comes with a lot of moving pieces. Brandin Podziemski was expected to start at shooting guard, but he has been ruled out because of lower back soreness.
Kristaps Porzingis, who had been projected as the starting center, is now in a more uncertain place entirely. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that he "is now seriously contemplating his future in basketball as he deals with recurring symptoms from the autoimmune condition termed as POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)."
Golden State is also without Charles Bassey, who has knee tendinitis, while Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody remain sidelined with long-term knee injuries. That leaves the Warriors with only 10 players on standard contracts active for Wednesday night.
Lendeborg’s rise has been swift. The No. 11 pick stood out in summer league, then took home Las Vegas Summer League MVP honors.
He carried that momentum into the preseason, averaging 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Steve Kerr has spent the last couple of weeks praising him and has said several times that he has been one of the team’s best players.
Golden State is leaning on his scoring and playmaking now, and he’s doing more of it as a pick-and-roll ball-handler than many expected.
For the Warriors, this is a rare setup. Since 2009, they’ve had just four rookie starters: Lendeborg, James Wiseman in 2020, Harrison Barnes in 2012 and Stephen Curry in 2009. Kerr has been the head coach since 2014, which means Lendeborg will be only the second rookie starter of Kerr’s tenure.
On the other side, the Lakers will go with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and Walker Kessler. They have ruled out Collin Sexton, Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero.
Curry’s opener numbers are solid, if not eye-popping by his usual standards. He has averaged 21.5 points per game in season openers, though that mark is dragged down by some rough outings early in his career.
Even so, Golden State has gone 10-7 in season openers with Curry, winning four of the last five. Three of those recent victories have come against the Lakers.
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Kristaps Porzingis being sidelined by an illness and Charles Bassey dealing with knee tendinitis has left the Warriors with a thinner center rotation than they likely expected this early. For now, Golden State is leaning on Al Horford, whose minutes will be managed, and two-way big man Graham Ike as it tries to keep the middle of the floor covered.
The situation has put a spotlight on a frontcourt group that already looked like a potential pressure point, and it may force the Warriors to move sooner than planned if the shortage lingers. With the season moving along, the team is expected to weigh whether adding more center depth, or even a better option, becomes necessary to stabilize the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Kerrs Jimmy Butler Update Says A Lot About Warriors Ceiling
The Warriors are heading into their 2026-27 opener against the Lakers without Jimmy Butler, and that alone puts an early spotlight on how they navigate the first stretch of the season. Butler is still working back from the torn ACL he suffered a year ago, but Steve Kerrs latest update suggested the veteran wing is moving in the right direction, with Kerr noting that Butler has been doing well and was recently spotted getting in work in the teams weight room.
Kerr also made clear that Butler remains a different kind of presence when he is around the group, which matters for a Warriors team trying to keep its ceiling intact while waiting on his return. The bigger question now is not just when Butler gets back on the floor, but how much his mentality and two-way edge can eventually raise the standard for a team that will be measured from the start by how it handles these early games without him. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Injury Crunch Puts Steve Kerr In A Tough Lakers Decision
Brandin Podziemski has been ruled out for the Warriors game against the Lakers, adding another layer to a rotation that is already being stretched by injuries. Golden State has been dealing with a long list of unavailable or uncertain bodies, with Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis, Moses Moody and Charles Bassey all either sidelined or questionable as Steve Kerr tries to patch together a workable lineup.
Will Richard, meanwhile, is suddenly in the conversation again after being out of the mix recently. With so many pieces in flux, the Warriors may need to lean on depth they have not had to trust much lately, and that makes the pregame decisions even more important against a Lakers team that can punish any shortage of available defenders or ball handlers. [Read more 🡒]